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Luther Simjian
Luther George Simjian (January 28, 1905 – October 23, 1997) was an Armenian-American inventor and entrepreneur. A prolific and professional inventor, he held over 200 patents, mostly related to optics and electronics. His most significant inventions were a pioneering flight simulator, arguably the first ATM and improvement to the teleprompter.
Simjian was born in Aintab, Ottoman Empire to Armenian parents on January 28, 1905. His father, George, was an insurance broker working for an Austrian company. His mother, Josephine (née Zaharian) died when he was only a few months old. His father later remarried and he had two half-sisters. Simjian lived in Aintab until the age of nine. In 1915, during the Armenian genocide, the Simjian family fled to Aleppo, Syria, only to return to Aintab in 1920. His stepmother and half-sisters were killed in Marash. Simjian fled to Beirut, then to France and eventually to the United States by the end of 1920. He first settled in New Haven, Connecticut, living with an uncle. He found a job coloring photographs. He graduated from the Booth Preparatory School in New Haven.
Simjian began working as a technician at the Yale School of Medicine in a work-study position at the photography lab. While initially having been inclined to pursue medical education, he eventually decided to pursue photography. In his position of a medical photographer, Simjian "took pictures of specimens, made lantern slides for doctors, and showed the slides for class lectures." In 1928 Simjian founded and became the first director of the photography department at the Yale School of Medicine, which he headed until 1934. After resigning from Yale, he moved to New York City and took courses at Columbia University "that he felt would be useful in the promotion of his inventions, focusing on business education, writing, and international banking."
Simjian's interest in portrait photography led to him inventing a self-photographing camera (PhotoReflex). He was inspired to invent it from his unhappiness with the repetitive nature of yearbook portraits. In 1929 he applied for patent for the "Pose-reflecting system for photographic apparatus." It was covered early on by the Popular Science magazine in 1929. It allowed the "subject to look into a mirror and see the framed pose the camera would take." To manufacture the new product, Simjian collaborated with Sperry Gyroscope to set up PhotoReflex, a company named after the camera itself. In 1931 the camera was introduced at the Wanamaker's department store in New York City contained within a portrait cabinet. Within the booth, people could see the "reflexive production of images of the self in real time." It was widely covered in the press at the time.
The self-photographing camera led to the invention of the autofocus (self-focusing) camera by Simjian. He applied for patent in June 1931 and was granted one for the "Self-focusing camera" in July 1932. It "changed the whole photography industry," but he did not "receive much money for his autofocusing invention, but he did get publicity. He eventually sold the rights to the PhotoReflex camera and name but reserved the rights to use the technology for non-photographic applications."
In June 1934 he was granted a patent for a color X-ray machine. He had applied for it in March 1932. He had "conceived the idea at Yale while trying to improve the quality of lecture slides. He decided to apply the new technology of television to X-ray images. Scanning was done in three separate colors, each of which could be enhanced as necessary, and the three scans could then be recombined to form a colored image. The separate scans could also be sent through a wire to another location for analysis. This transformed the field of X-ray technology." This was reported by Time Magazine and The Literary Digest in July 1934.
Simjian thereafter traveled to Europe and established a laboratory in London and Miroflex, a company to produce the PhotoReflex camera. However, his plans were disrupted by World War II as the focus of production shifted from commercial to military.
In 1939 Simjian founded Reflectone Corporation (later renamed to Reflectone Electronics, Inc.) in Stamford, Connecticut, to develop and manufacture his inventions. He served as president and chairman of Reflectone until he sold the company to Universal Match Corporation in 1961. Under his leadership, the company achieved "significant commercial success."
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Luther Simjian
Luther George Simjian (January 28, 1905 – October 23, 1997) was an Armenian-American inventor and entrepreneur. A prolific and professional inventor, he held over 200 patents, mostly related to optics and electronics. His most significant inventions were a pioneering flight simulator, arguably the first ATM and improvement to the teleprompter.
Simjian was born in Aintab, Ottoman Empire to Armenian parents on January 28, 1905. His father, George, was an insurance broker working for an Austrian company. His mother, Josephine (née Zaharian) died when he was only a few months old. His father later remarried and he had two half-sisters. Simjian lived in Aintab until the age of nine. In 1915, during the Armenian genocide, the Simjian family fled to Aleppo, Syria, only to return to Aintab in 1920. His stepmother and half-sisters were killed in Marash. Simjian fled to Beirut, then to France and eventually to the United States by the end of 1920. He first settled in New Haven, Connecticut, living with an uncle. He found a job coloring photographs. He graduated from the Booth Preparatory School in New Haven.
Simjian began working as a technician at the Yale School of Medicine in a work-study position at the photography lab. While initially having been inclined to pursue medical education, he eventually decided to pursue photography. In his position of a medical photographer, Simjian "took pictures of specimens, made lantern slides for doctors, and showed the slides for class lectures." In 1928 Simjian founded and became the first director of the photography department at the Yale School of Medicine, which he headed until 1934. After resigning from Yale, he moved to New York City and took courses at Columbia University "that he felt would be useful in the promotion of his inventions, focusing on business education, writing, and international banking."
Simjian's interest in portrait photography led to him inventing a self-photographing camera (PhotoReflex). He was inspired to invent it from his unhappiness with the repetitive nature of yearbook portraits. In 1929 he applied for patent for the "Pose-reflecting system for photographic apparatus." It was covered early on by the Popular Science magazine in 1929. It allowed the "subject to look into a mirror and see the framed pose the camera would take." To manufacture the new product, Simjian collaborated with Sperry Gyroscope to set up PhotoReflex, a company named after the camera itself. In 1931 the camera was introduced at the Wanamaker's department store in New York City contained within a portrait cabinet. Within the booth, people could see the "reflexive production of images of the self in real time." It was widely covered in the press at the time.
The self-photographing camera led to the invention of the autofocus (self-focusing) camera by Simjian. He applied for patent in June 1931 and was granted one for the "Self-focusing camera" in July 1932. It "changed the whole photography industry," but he did not "receive much money for his autofocusing invention, but he did get publicity. He eventually sold the rights to the PhotoReflex camera and name but reserved the rights to use the technology for non-photographic applications."
In June 1934 he was granted a patent for a color X-ray machine. He had applied for it in March 1932. He had "conceived the idea at Yale while trying to improve the quality of lecture slides. He decided to apply the new technology of television to X-ray images. Scanning was done in three separate colors, each of which could be enhanced as necessary, and the three scans could then be recombined to form a colored image. The separate scans could also be sent through a wire to another location for analysis. This transformed the field of X-ray technology." This was reported by Time Magazine and The Literary Digest in July 1934.
Simjian thereafter traveled to Europe and established a laboratory in London and Miroflex, a company to produce the PhotoReflex camera. However, his plans were disrupted by World War II as the focus of production shifted from commercial to military.
In 1939 Simjian founded Reflectone Corporation (later renamed to Reflectone Electronics, Inc.) in Stamford, Connecticut, to develop and manufacture his inventions. He served as president and chairman of Reflectone until he sold the company to Universal Match Corporation in 1961. Under his leadership, the company achieved "significant commercial success."
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